Press Releases, 11/9/2012 | Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Minister Stubb to attend Team Finland event in Switzerland

Press Release 262/2012
9.11.2012

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb will speak at a seminar for promoting Finnish ICT knowhow and attracting investments in Zürich, Switzerland, on 12 November. The seminar is a part of Finnish-Swiss ICT Industry Match-up Event coordinated by the Embassy of Finland in Bern and supported by the Team Finland network.

The goals of the event include matching up Finnish ICT start-ups and Swiss investors, promoting investment opportunities to the Finnish ICT sector and creating new international partnerships. The event will introduce 12 Finnish ICT start-ups.

Switzerland is the 19th largest economy in the world, and Zürich and Geneva are among the 15 largest financial centres. Financial services make up to ten percent of the country's GDP.

Both Switzerland and Finland have ranked high in evaluations of innovation and competitiveness. The both have a relatively small internal market and going international is a prerequisite for success for start-ups. The event is an opportunity to promote investments on start-ups and find out about the ways in which Switzerland has supported innovations and growth-phase companies.

Along with Minister Stubb, the seminar has high-level expert speakers from Switzerland and Finland. The Team Finland network, put together in Switzerland by Finnish business experts operating in the country, has been the main driver for the event.